Rhetorical Analysis of Emerson

            Ralph Waldo Emerson was an avid writer who had many topics to write about. In one of his most famous works, “Self Reliance”, he uses many different tactics to develop his writing to become effective. “Self Reliance” was written in the 1800’s. “Self Reliance” was also written during the time of transcendentalism which explains a lot of its messages that Emerson speaks of. Throughout the essay Emerson uses many different strategies but many of these include his style, his tone, and his emotions, or pathos, and his metaphors he brings into his essay.

            Beginning in the second paragraph, Emerson uses pathos a lot. When he says “envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good” It feeds to peoples emotions, people do not want to think that imitating someone or something is, in Emerson’s mind, suicide. It gets to the people emotionally because they do not want to think of these things the ways that Emerson thinks of them, they also feel down about their envy they feel, or the imitation they have done. In “Self Reliance” Emerson also says this metaphor, “The eye was placed where one ray should fall, that it might testify of that particular ray. We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents. ” This metaphor can seem a bit confusing when first read, the reader may first think, “what does an eye have to do with self reliance?” Though when thought about in the context of the text, it actually has a lot in common with it. It speaks about how that you were given your own two eyes to see, to have your own views, and those views are yours and only yours, and they are original to each and every person. While if you take someone else’s views then your views are no longer the same, they are no longer original. Another thing that Emerson does to emotionally get to the reader is by including God in the essay. When God is mentioned in any essay it automatically catches the attention of the audience whether that is supposed to happen or not, because God and religion is such a touchy subject with most people.

            Continuing on to the second paragraph, Emerson again uses pathos to make his writing effective. In the first sentence pathos is especially used. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” This not only uses pathos by speaking to the emotions of the readers, but it also uses tone. In this sentence Emerson uses a different tone, a happier, more exaggerated tone. While also using the “Trust thyself” to feed on the emotions of the readers. Also by Emerson saying “every heart vibrates to that iron string” he is using a metaphor that makes the tone of the paragraph become very happy and upbeat because of the reference to music. As the paragraph continues on it has much more pathos, referring to the fact that you should accept your place in society instead of being envious of someone elses place. “Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being.” In this sentence from the essay the style that Emerson uses is different, he uses parallel sentence structure by saying “working through their hands, predominating in all their being.” In doing this Emerson adds emphasis to that part of the sentence, and therefore also adds more pathos to his essay, because the readers feel something more to that part of the sentence. As the paragraph progresses Emerson uses more metaphors and pathos to make his essay more and more effective. In the last few words of the essay, Emerson uses the words “Chaos and the Dark” by using these words the tone of the paragraph seems to change a little bit to more of a mysterious tone, simply because of those two words. Though the two final words change the tone of the last sentence of the paragraph remains the same upbeat, happy tone it was.

            Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the most influential writers of his time, and he did not get to become as influential as he was by using normal writing. His writings fed off the emotions of his readers and his metaphors, tone, and style all helped him become so influential. By reading Emerson’s essays, writings, and poems we learn how simple things used in the correct manners can make pieces of writing much, much more powerful.